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(CNSNews.com) -- A gay writer who is planning to marry his partner says that it is no longer acceptable to shame people of faith by labeling them “homophobic” just because they do not support same-sex marriage.
“It is no longer okay – indeed, it never was – to write cutesy articles shaming religious people as homophobic for simply being one of the many millions of Americans in 2016 who attend a religious congregation that does not support same-sex marriage. That is not a good move for activism or journalism,” wrote Brandon Ambrosino in a December 1st oped published by the Washington Post.
Ambrosino cited a November 29 BuzzFeed article about Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of the popular HGTV show Fixer Upper.
“They are also, as they detail in The Magnolia Story, devout Christians – Joanna has spoken of and written about her conversations with God,” BuzzFeed reporter Kate Aurthur stated.
Aurthur reported that the Gaines’ pastor, Jimmy Seibert of the Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas, is against gay marriage and “takes a hard line against same-sex marriage and promotes converting LGBT people into being straight.”
Ambrosino wrote that although some of his friends and family have declined to attend his upcoming same-sex wedding, he still does not think people should be shamed for their religious convictions.
“Still, I do not think these conservatives should be shamed or mocked. I do not think they should be fired. And I certainly do not think they should be the butt of a popular BuzzFeed article,” Ambrosino wrote.
He pointed out that after President-elect Trump accused the media of bias, stories like BuzzFeed’s “hit piece” on the Gaines has proved to the world that he was right.
“Enter Trump – the voice of all the people liberals and activists have been shutting up for the past eight years. It’s no secret that part of Trump’s success is owed to how skillfully he invalidated the media’s authority in the eyes of his conservative followers,” Ambrosino stated.
“The old strategy of journalists shaming ‘hicks’ is not going to work anymore because our new president seems to be on their side,” he concluded.
Ambrosino called the BuzzFeed article a “non-story,” adding that BuzzFeed seems to be an outlet for discussions on diversity, but only when it concerns skin color.
“BuzzFeed is probably at the forefront of discussions surrounding diversity in entertainment. But do their reporters think diversity refers only to skin color?” he asked.
“Does ideological diversity count for nothing, especially when it is representative of, again, a sizable chunk of the American public? It’s hard to make the case that the website promotes this kind of diversity, particularly on same-sex marriage,” he added.
Ambrosino also voiced his concern that the Buzzfeed story “validates everything that President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters have been saying about the media: that some journalists – specifically younger ones at popular digital publications – will tell stories in certain, deceitful, manipulative ways to take down conservatives.”
“Stories such as this will serve only to reinforce the growing chasm between the media and Trump,” Ambrosino said, “which means we are in for four agonizing, tedious years of ‘gotcha’ non-stories like this one.”